🚀Rocket Report: November 2026🚀

Dear J.D. Parker Families,

As we welcome November, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for the warm welcome, encouragement, and appreciation you have shown me, especially throughout Principal Appreciation Month in October. Your thoughtful messages, kind gestures, and continued support have meant more than you know. I am truly grateful to be part of the J.D. Parker family, and I could not be happier to serve as your principal. It is a privilege to work alongside such supportive families as we continue building a school community where every student can learn, grow, and SOAR!

November is a wonderful opportunity to focus on gratitude and giving thanks. As we move through this month, I encourage our students to practice gratitude by recognizing the people who support them, showing kindness to others, and appreciating the opportunities they have each day. A little kindness and a simple thank-you can make a big difference!

As we look ahead, we are also beginning to prepare for our FAST Progress Monitoring 2 (PM2) assessments during the first week of December. The work happening in our classrooms each day is helping students build the skills and confidence they need to demonstrate their growth. Families can support this preparation by encouraging students to attend school every day, arrive on time, complete their learning activities, and come to school each day ready to give their best effort. Most importantly, remind your child that growth matters, effort matters, and we are proud of the progress they make along the way!

Thank you for your continued partnership, trust, and support. I am excited about all that we are accomplishing together and look forward to another wonderful month of learning, growing, and celebrating our Rockets!

With gratitude,

Ms. Norwood
Principal
J.D. Parker Elementary School of STEAM & Aerospace 🚀

• 11/4- Junior Achievement Career Fair 💼
• 11/9- Chick-fil-A Giveback Night/Food Drive from 2-8 PM 🐔
• 11/10- Wear red, white, & blue in observance of Veteran's Day 🤍 💕 💙
• 11/11- NO SCHOOL- Veteran's Day
• 11/20- SOARing Rocket Ceremony (invites will be sent home if your child is selected) 🏆
• 11/23-11/27- Thanksgiving Break 🦃 🍂

Office Hours: 7:00 AM–3:30 PM
Student Hours: 7:40 AM–2:00 PM

🍎 Breakfast & Lunch: Breakfast and lunch are free for all J.D. Parker students!

🥪 Outside Food & Drinks: Families are welcome to bring outside food or drinks for their student; however, these items must be consumed during the student’s scheduled lunch time and may not be taken back to the classroom.

💧 Water Bottles: Students may have water only in their water bottles throughout the school day. Thank you for helping us keep our classrooms focused and learning-ready!

Help us start the school year strong by making sure all required student forms are completed! While yellow packets were sent home, families can complete these forms digitally through the FOCUS Parent Portal. Completing forms online is the most efficient and accurate option and allows important information to be available to school staff immediately.

🚗 Dismissal Reminder: Please be sure to list all adults you authorize to pick up your student on the yellow dismissal card in FOCUS. This helps us ensure a safe and smooth dismissal process every day.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to make sure your student’s information is complete, current, and accurate! 💙

Families, don’t forget to check your student’s Tuesday Newsday folder each week! 🗂️ These folders are an important way for school information, flyers, forms, and reminders to make their way home. Please take a few minutes each Tuesday to review the contents and return any forms or items that require a response.

Thank you for helping us keep communication between home and school strong! 💙

Our next PTO meeting is Thursday, November 19 at 2:30 in the Media Center!

Also - check out the PTO's BAND! It is our home-base for all things PTO!

Including meeting minutes, photos, calendar, and more!

https://www.facebook.com/JDParkerRockets/

Want to stay in the loop with all the exciting things happening at J.D. Parker Elementary? Follow and like our Facebook page! 💙 You’ll find school news, celebrations, student achievements, upcoming events, and special moments happening across our campus. We love sharing the amazing things our students and staff are doing—so give us a like and stay connected! 📚✈️✨

Research shows that students who read 10,000 words in AR in 3rd grade passed the FAST assessment. In 4th grade, students who read 80,000 words in AR passed the FAST assessment, and in 5th grade, students who read 100,000 words in AR passed the FAST assessment.

We’re encouraging all of our students to check out books from the library and take Accelerated Reader (AR) quizzes regularly! Reading at home is a wonderful way to build vocabulary, strengthen comprehension, and develop a lifelong love of reading. Encourage your child to choose a book they enjoy, read a little each night, and take the AR quiz when they finish. Every book is an opportunity to learn, grow, and celebrate success! 🌟📖

Let’s keep those pages turning and our Rockets reading! 🚀📚

You may hear your children talking about SOAR or using words such as: safety, ownership, always doing your best, and respect. These are the schoolwide PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) expectations that we hold our students and staff to each and every day. When any staff members catches a student exhibiting SOAR behaviors, students are awarded a SOAR ticket. They can save these tickets to use in our monthly school PBIS store.

The FortifyFL allows students, staff, and community members to instantly and anonymously report suspicious activity or threats directly to law enforcement and school officials. False reporting is against the law and may result in law enforcement involvement.

The app is free, easy to use, and accessible 24/7 on any smartphone or browser.